NEWS                                                       January 28, 1998

               FCC RELEASES NEW TELEPHONE PENETRATION REPORT

     The FCC today released a report presenting data on telephone penetration levels by state
for various income categories.  It is designed to help evaluate the degree of success of making
telephone service available to low-income households in each state.

     To help evaluate the effectiveness of the Commission's lifeline program on telephone
penetration, the report compares penetration rates for states with and without lifeline programs. 
Penetration increases have been greater on average in states with lifeline programs than in states
without lifeline programs, both for all households and for low-income households.  Between
March 1984 and March 1997, the overall average penetration rate for states with lifeline
programs increased by 2.4%, which was statistically significant.  The increase for states without
programs was only 1.0%, which was not statistically significant.  For households with incomes
under $10,000 (expressed in 1984 dollars), which would be the households primarily affected
by the lifeline programs, the average increase was 6.5%, again statistically significant, for states
with programs versus 3.3%, also statistically significant, for states without programs.

     This report is part of a series of supplemental reports on telephone penetration that are
designed to complement the information available in "Telephone Subscribership in the United
States," which is published three times a year.  Like the subscribership report, this report is
based on data from the Current Population Survey, which is conducted by the Bureau of the
Census.

     This report is available in the Common Carrier Bureau's public reference room, 2000
M Street, NW, Room 575, Washington, DC.  Copies may be purchased by calling International
Transcription Service at (202) 857-3800.  This report can be downloaded [file name:
PNTRIS97.ZIP or PNTRIS97.PDF] from the FCC-State Link internet site, which can be
reached at http://www.fcc.gov/ccb/stats on the World Wide Web.  The report can also be
downloaded from the FCC-State Link computer bulletin board system at (202) 418-0241.

     For further information, contact Alexander Belinfante at (202) 418-0944.

- FCC -NEWS